Six IU campuses to share $642,847 grant for emergency management

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University has been awarded an Emergency Management for Higher Education grant in the amount of $642,847 from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant will be used on six IU campuses -- IU Bloomington, IU Northwest in Gary, IU South Bend, IU Kokomo, IU Southeast in New Albany and IU East in Richmond -- to assess and further develop comprehensive, all-hazards emergency preparedness programs on these campuses.

A separate grant in the amount of $448,890 was awarded to Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis in 2008. IU Fort Wayne is administered by Purdue University and is not included in the new grant.

The new grant was one of 17 awarded to institutions of higher education in 2010 by the U.S. Department of Education to develop or review and improve, and fully integrate emergency management planning efforts on campus.

Diane Mack, University Director for Emergency Management and Continuity

"This grant will allow IU to not only expand capabilities to prevent, mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, provide continuity during, and recover from any hazard, but also will provide opportunities to expand partnerships with other colleges and universities for a more robust response capability statewide and across the nation," said University Director for Emergency Management and Continuity Diane Mack.

Among other activities, said Mack, IU will use the grant to conduct a full risk assessment on all six campuses. The funding will assist with improving existing plans such as the comprehensive emergency management plan, training campus staff, faculty and students in emergency management procedures, and ensuring coordination of planning and communication across all relevant components, offices and department of the campus.

The grant will provide for the creation of a system-wide incident management team and the development and implementation of training exercises and drills for campus personnel. It also will support a broad, intercampus awareness effort and IU's coordination with local, state and federal government emergency management efforts.

"This grant exemplifies our renewed focus on emergency management and our commitment to safe, prepared, and resilient campuses," said John Applegate, vice president for university regional affairs, planning and policy.

"In the past year, we have created new public safety and emergency management departments, brought in experienced professionals, and developed a plan of action for significant improvements across the university in those areas," said Mark Bruhn, associate vice president for public safety and institutional assurance. "This generous grant is validation of our planning, and will enable us to complete the projects much more quickly."

The Emergency Management for Higher Education grant program, now in its third year, supports institutions of higher education projects designed to develop, or review and improve, and fully integrate campus-based all-hazards emergency management planning efforts. A program funded by the program must use the framework of the four phases of emergency management -- prevention-mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.

A comprehensive emergency plan provides for business and educational continuity in the event of a campus emergency, establishes short-term and long-term protocol in preparation for an outbreak of infectious disease on campus, and defines emergency protocols to provide for emergency needs of persons with disabilities and special or unique needs, including those arising from language barriers or cultural differences.